


Misunderstandings

by labelma



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, M/M, POV Switches, by whatwouldmickeydo, outside pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:49:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26979124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/labelma/pseuds/labelma
Summary: What happens when Sue bans Ian from overusing the word 'husband' and a naive new employee develops a crush? You'll just have to read and see.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich
Comments: 27
Kudos: 537





	Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suweett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suweett/gifts).



> I was stalking the Gallavich tag on tumblr as one does and I came across [this amazing post ](https://whatwouldmickeydo.tumblr.com/post/631145259651497984/ok-but-im-an-absolute-slut-for-outside-povs-and) and I just had to write it.  
> I had a lot of fun with this one!  
> Enjoy :)  
> Also, a funny story, I could not for the life of me think of a word I needed for the summary because I kept coming up with a word in Hebrew that has no English translation and I got so frustrated I just completely changed the summary.  
> #BilingualProblems

Ian takes a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to slow his racing heart.

He hasn’t been back here since the last time he went off his meds and everything else came tumbling down around him.

He never officially quit, and he doesn’t remember getting fired. He simply stopped going to work and they stopped paying him.

And then he thought God was talking to him so at that point nothing else mattered.

After pleading guilty he thought he’d ruined his chances of ever working as an EMT again.

The insurance scam with Paula was a cruel joke, like he was so close to getting the job he loved back, but without all the things he loved about it.

As sick as it sounds, Paula’s death might have been one of the best things that ever happened to him. Not only did it set in motion the chain of events which led to him marrying Mickey, but it made him a ward of parole officer Larry Seaver, perhaps the only PO in the whole state of Illinois who truly cared about his parolees.

Mickey talked big about how he hated sharing his feelings, but he knew as well as Ian did how lucky they were after the shitshow that was Paula.

Seaver worked hard to help his parolees get back on their feet. After his first meeting with Ian, remarkably similar to a therapy session, and after thoroughly going through Ian’s paperwork, Larry informed Ian that he thought he could get Ian’s old EMT job back.

Ian didn’t want to believe him, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up. In fact he remained pessimistic right up until he got an email from Sue, his old coworker turned supervisor, informing him that he was invited back as an EMT for a probationary period and if he was able to prove he was stable and able to handle the job he would be hired full time.

He had to read it several times before he even realized what it meant.

Ian doesn’t know what Larry did or said to get him a job he technically wasn’t allowed to have with a felony on his record, but he did it.

So here Ian stands, outside the station he used to work at, and now does again, terrified to walk through the door.

It’s been nearly two years and things have certainly changed.

Plus Ian doesn’t know how to face Sue. He remembers her kindness towards him and her pride at how he’d grown before everything went to shit. But he doesn’t remember how things left off with her. One day she was in his life and the next day she wasn’t.

And now she’s his boss.

One last deep breath and he’s forcing himself through the doors and into the common area.

There’s a girl he doesn’t recognize leaning against the counter drinking coffee, and a man he only vaguely remembers helping as a rookie standing with her conversing quietly.

And there’s Sue sitting at the table reading a newspaper.

She looks up at the sound of his approach and grins from ear to ear before hopping up and enveloping him in a hug.

Ian is so shocked he almost doesn’t remember to hug her back.

Then she’s slapping his arm and glaring at him.

“Dude you dropped off the face of the earth! I mean, I know why, but you could have at least given me a phone call once you got out!”

Okay yeah, he deserves this.

He’s bashfully rubbing the back of his neck and trying to avoid her eyes while she stands with her hands on her hips expectantly.

_Oh she actually wants an answer to that question._

“I don’t know, I kind of thought you wouldn’t want to see me after, you know everything went down.”

Now Sue’s glaring even harder and slapping him again.

The two other EMTs are watching, surely amused by Ian’s predicament.

“That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” Sue says while rolling her eyes, but now smiling a bit, “Nearly as dumb as that time you almost ran of to Mexico with your fugitive ex- Oh my God is that a ring?”

Ian feels his hand jerked away from his face where it was just one moment ago scratching his jaw.

“It is a ring! When did you get married?”

And Ian can see below the excitement on her face is just the smallest hint of hurt.

He really should have invited her.

“Uh, so you remember the fugitive ex?” She nods, eyes blown wide, “No longer a fugitive, or in Mexico. We got married maybe a little more than a month ago.”

“Oh God, I take back what I just said”

“No, no worries,” And now Ian is smiling because really, he could talk about Mickey forever. “We reunited in prison actually,” Now he really has the others’ attention, “but I’ve never been happier, he’s the love of my life, he makes everything else worth it.”

“Aw, Ian,” Says Sue, a huge grin on her face, “I’m so happy for you. We have to get a drink and catch up soon!”

She pats him on the cheek,

“Anyway, business, these two lovely EMTs are Kirstin and Roger,” they both nod to him, “You’ve done this all before so I’m just going to have you jump right into it. Here’s a new uniform, go get changed.”

Ian could not be more pleasantly surprised, he’s being treated like any other EMT, and he even gets to start working immediately.

He has a feeling it might take some time to truly earn Sue’s trust back, but he’s committed to doing it right this time.

“Oh, and by the way,” says Sue, “You shouldn’t wear your ring when we go out on runs. It could get caught on something and get your hand torn off.”

“Definitely wouldn’t want that,” laughs Ian as he takes his wedding ring off and tucks it into the pocket of his bag.

The alarm goes off and everyone is heading to the ambulance.

Ian hops in the back with Kirstin.

He’s more than ready for this.

* * *

“So it’s three in the morning, and I wake up to this God-awful screeching sound. There’s no one in the bed next to me, and I just know there’s something crazy going on,”

Ian is sitting at the table, animatedly telling the story to Kirstin who by now has learned to stop being shocked by Ian’s wild stories.

“And so I walk down the stairs and I see, of all things my younger brother holding a possum, and my husband-“

“Ian, oh my God,” huffs Sue as she walks into the room, “We know who your husband is! We’ve met Mickey before! Actually, I’m officially banning you from using the word husband, I know you love having a husband but no more! Use his name!”

Ian laughs. Okay, maybe he does talk about his husband a bit too much.

“I’m serious!” Says Sue, now laughing too.

“Fine but I’m not gonna stop talking about Mickey. That would be cruel and unusual punishment.”

Sue rolls her eyes but chooses not to argue.

“So anyway, Mickey is yelling and Carl is yelling, and now I’m yelling…”

* * *

Jake always wanted to be able to help people.

Growing up he aspired to be a doctor, but after four years of trying, and failing to be successful in pre-med classes, it became clear that wasn’t a feasible option.

And so he switched gears, looking into whether his college offered EMT training programs, and throwing himself in head first.

His parents, while disappointed they wouldn’t have a doctor for a son, were happy enough that the EMT course was far cheaper than four years in med school.

So here he is, finally starting his new job as an EMT on the south side of Chicago.

He’s standing outside, nervous but excited, and ready to start the day.

“Excuse me sir, is this the station 24 ambulance bay?”

Jake turns away from staring at the building to find a pretty black girl about his age.

“It is indeed.”

She smiles at him,

“Great! This is my first day working here, I’m a bit nervous.”

“No way, me too! I’m Jake.”

He reaches out to shake her hand.

“I’m Shauna, it’s nice to meet you.”

He turns back toward the building. The prospect of walking in seems a little less daunting now that he’s not alone.

“Shall we go in together then?” Asks Shauna.

He nods and moves to open the door for her.

The interior of the station seems remarkably homey.

There are lockers, a wooden table and chairs, a kitchenette, and doors leading to the ambulance bay. There’s a few people milling about in starched uniforms.

Jake tries to take it all in at once.

“Ah, our rookies,”

A woman stands from the table. Jake remembers her from his interview, Sue he thinks her name is. She shakes both of their hands.

“I’m Sue, I’m the head Paramedic here. I’ll be responsible for most of your training, but Ian here will be helping out.”

She motions to a man who has come to stand next to her.

And Jake has never been one to believe in love at first sight, but when the redhead smiles at him, he definitely feels something. A connection of sorts. It doesn’t hurt that the man, Ian, is hot as all hell.

Ian leans forward to shake his hand, and Jake can’t help noticing how warm and large his hand is.

He reminds himself to act cool.

Sue is still explaining how things work at the station, and Jake is trying to pay attention, but he can’t help but get distracted every time Ian grins or laughs.

Well shit, it’s been less than five minutes and he’s already enamored with the man.

Jake and Shauna are thrown into the deep end of the pool when the alarm goes off and Sue motions for them to get in the back of the ambulance.

Jake is thankful when he notices Ian getting in front to drive because he doesn’t think he’d be able to focus on Sue’s useful advice if he had Ian to stare at.

Jake's day goes well as far as first days go.

He likes his coworkers and he can already tell he’s going to be great friends with Shauna.

He did well enough on the call, though at one point Ian had to cut in and take over because Jake wasn’t sure what to do.

Still, he doesn’t feel too bad, it was his first day after all.

He goes home for the night feeling ready to take on the next day.

* * *

“Alright rookies, we always go out drinking on Friday nights, you should join.” Says Sue while clapping him and Shauna on the shoulders.

The week passed quickly in a blur of new information.

Jake can tell he’s going to love his job. It’s thrilling, rewarding, and despite his mistake on the first day, he’s good at it.

He watches Ian change his shirt out of the corner of his eye.

The eye candy doesn’t hurt either.

His crush on the man hasn’t lessened in the slightest, in fact he becomes more and more infatuated by the day.

Ian is funny, kind, cares about his job, super fucking hot, and Jake is fairly certain he’s gay.

He wants to ask the redhead out, but well, Jake has never been the most confident in dating.

Every day he tells himself he’ll ask Ian out for drinks, and every day he chickens out.

They walk to a local bar as a group, and Jake laughs as Ian shares another story about his family.

“Debbie is running out the door, and she practically throws Franny at me, even though I’m already holding a screaming Freddie because Lip needed a meeting. I asked Mickey for help, but he was running late for work. And that’s when Frank came in, and that never goes well.”

That’s another thing, Ian has a big family.

Jake can’t keep track of all the names and how everyone is connected to him.

He thinks he has several siblings, and that some of them have their own kids.

The one thing he has never heard Ian mention is a significant other of any kind.

That gives him hope, even though he can’t imagine a guy like Ian staying single for long.

The bar is… a dump honestly, but this is the south side, so Jake isn’t surprised. Nor is he surprised when Ian hugs the bartender, a very tall, very buff looking bearded man.

Ian gets along with everyone. He’s the perfect man.

They all settle in a booth with beers that could be colder, but Jake isn’t going to complain.

Sue and Ian are laughing together at a joke that Jake missed, but still he revels in the sound of Ian’s laugh.

“So Ian, how long have you been working with Sue?” Asks Shauna.

Ian answers,

“I started working with her four years ago, but I took a break for about two years. I came back maybe six months ago.”

Jake can’t stop himself from asking the obvious follow up,

“Why’d you stop working?”

Ian blushes and scratches the back of his neck. Jake finds it hopelessly endearing.

“I uh, I was in prison.”

Shauna chokes on her beer,

“You were what?”

Kirstin and Sue are laughing.

Clearly this is a well known fact at the station.

“You may as well tell them now, get it over with before someone recognizes you on a run.” Says Sue as she slaps his shoulder.

Ian is almost as red as his hair now.

“Well, I was sleeping with this guy who worked with disenfranchised queer kids,”

Jake tries not to outwardly react at the confirmation that Ian is into men, but inside he’s screaming and dancing,

“And I started going to all these homophobic churches and fighting back at the pastors. It kinda got out of hand. Next thing I know, I’m blowing up a van and getting arrested.”

Something finally clicks,

“Wait, are you Gay Jesus?”

“Ha, Sue, you owe me five, I told you one of the rookies would know him.”

Sue hands a five dollar bill to Kirstin.

“Uh, yeah, I was, but that’s a part of my life I want to leave behind, I wasn’t in such a good place then, but I am now. I don’t really like thinking about it to be honest.”

Jake feels bad for bringing it up.

“I respect that. Sorry for reminding you.”

“No worries.”

Ian smiles at him and Jake feels butterflies.

Not only is Ian kind and funny, but he’s brave and complicated.

Jake is in deep.

Later that night when everyone is pleasantly buzzed he pulls Shauna aside,

“Shauna I have a problem,”

“You have a massive crush on Ian,” she responds without missing a beat.

His heart drops into his stomach,

“Oh shit, am I that obvious?”

“Eh, maybe a little. If it helps I don’t think he’s noticed.”

Jake downs the rest of his beer.

“I can’t help it. He’s so pretty and nice.”

Shauna laughs, patting his hand.

“You should ask him out! What have you got to lose?”

“My dignity?”

She scoffs,

“Bullshit. You’re a cutie. Any guy would be lucky to have you.”

And Jake knows he isn’t unattractive, but Ian seems to be in a class of his own.

Jake groans.

He really is going to have to put his big boys pants on and just ask him out.

* * *

It’s a slow day at the station.

They’re all sitting in the common room chatting, and Jake may or may not be staring at Ian out of the corner of his eye.

“Man, when I was a kid, I was such a tomboy,” Says Kirstin as she sips her coffee, “I played soccer, hockey, softball, even lacrosse. I loved it.”

“There weren’t so many opportunities for childhood sports in the south side,” says Ian, “but I did play little league baseball. Mickey and I were on the same team actually, but Mickey got kicked off the team for pissing on first base.”

Ian laughs fondly.

Jake thinks he’s finally figuring out who Ian’s family members are.

He has an older sister who raised him but no longer lives at home. He has an older brother named Lip who has a baby that Ian loves (if Jake had ovaries, they would explode), as well as a younger sister who also has a child. He has another brother named Mickey who he must be close with, as he’s in a lot of Ian’s stories. And then he thinks Ian has more younger brothers, and a deadbeat father who comes and goes.

Every now and then new names pop up and confuse him, but Jake is determined to learn everything he can about Ian.

He’s been talking himself up all day, and by the time his shift is over, he’s decided.

He’s going to ask Ian out today.

He follows him out the front door as Ian heads towards a car parked by the curb.

There’s a man leaning against the car smoking a cigarette.

Jake spots tattoos on his knuckles, but can’t figure out what they say.

The man gives off a very intimidating vibe.

Jake hurries his walk, “Hey Ian, wait up a second.”

Ian turns around and smiles at him.

“Oh, Jake, this is Mickey, Mickey this is my coworker Jake.”

Ian’s brother barely even acknowledges him, but his stomach is too tied up for him to care.

Still, he’s determined, he’s going to do it.

“Um, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to get a drink with me this weekend or something?”

Ian is quiet, and the air is awkward.

Mickey has straightened up, full attention on Jake, his impressive eyebrows sky high.

Ian glances at him and then back at Jake while his hand comes up to rub at the back of his neck.

“Jake, that’s very sweet of you, but uh, I’m married.

Jake's eyes go wide as dinner plates.

Ian is married?!

“You’re married?”

Jake thought he had figured Ian’s family out, but Ian had never mentioned a husband.

“He just said he was.” Says Mickey in a voice like he thinks Jake is stupid.

And maybe Jake is stupid because Mickey is walking over to Ian and taking his hand, interlacing their fingers.

Jake sees the glint of a silver wedding band on Mickey’s finger, and he suddenly feels very very embarrassed.

He just asked Ian out in front of his husband.

In front of his very intimidating looking husband.

“I am so sorry. Please pretend this never happened.”

Mickey glares while Ian smiles politely,

“Don’t worry, no harm no foul. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

Jake nods and watches the man of his dreams get into the car with his husband and drive away.

Time to go get drunk.

* * *

Ian claps his hands to his face.

“That was awkward.”

Mickey shoots him an amused look before turning back to the road.

“You think it was awkward? I just watched my husband get asked out right in front of me.”

Ian groans,

“Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t pummel him. If someone tried flirting with you in front of me I’d beat them to the ground.”

“No you wouldn’t,” Mickey scoffs, “He looked like a puppy dog, I couldn’t beat him up. Plus if I punched every idiot who looked at you like that I’d have no time for anything else. You’re hot, that’s life.”

Ian smirks. They’ve come a long way since high school.

“Did you really never mention you were married?”

Mickey is looking straight ahead at the road, but Ian can hear the insecurity in his voice.

He reaches over and squeezes Mickey’s thigh.

“I talk about you constantly. Sue banned me from using the word husband because I never shut up about you,” Ian laughs, “He probably just didn’t realize we were married when I brought your name up.”

Finally, Mickey turns to him and grins.

“You’re an idiot.”

“Takes one to know one.”

Mickey rolls his eyes at the childish insult.

“I love you, you know,” says Ian sincerely.

Mickey parks in front of the Gallagher house and turns fully toward Ian.

“I know. I love you too.”

He pulls Mickey toward him and plants a kiss firmly on his lips, indulging for a moment in the feel of his husband before he grins and opens the car door.

“So how do you feel about ordering pizza?”

Mickey grins back at him,

“You’re a man after my own heart.”

* * *

When Ian comes in the next week, he’s wearing a grey silicone ring and has a very obvious hickey on his neck.

Jake feels a twinge of embarrassment and a hint of jealousy when he sees it, but well, it was clearly never going to work out.

Besides, Jake has a date tonight with a hot doctor he met at the bar over the weekend.

Things just might work out after all.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone has a cute idea for a Gallavich oneshot, I'm taking requests! Hit me up at [ my tumblr ](https://labelma.tumblr.com/)and send me a message or ask. I can't promise I'll get to it immediately because ya girl is studying for her LSATs, but I will get to it.  
> Fic writing is a much needed break from law school prep so I'm hoping to get a bit more into it. If you have a headcannon you want turned into a fic, I'm your girl!  
> (Unless its smut, I don't write smut, that's just my preference)  
> As always, kudos and comments are very much appreciated!


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